Raphael Adam Prober

Raphael Adam Prober

Raphael Adam Prober

Raphael Prober serves as co-head of the firm’s congressional investigations practice and represents companies, institutions, and individuals in all aspects of governmental investigations and related regulatory matters, with a focus on congressional investigations. Mr. Prober counsels clients through some of their most complex legal, regulatory, and other challenges and regularly assists clients with complex internal investigations.

Practice & Background

Throughout his career in private practice and in the public sector, Mr. Prober has advised on some of the most high-profile, high-stakes and complex congressional and governmental investigations. In connection with such congressional investigations, Mr. Prober represents clients in all aspects of such matters, including the preparation of testimony given before numerous committees of the U.S. Congress, the preparation of witnesses, the defense of depositions and interviews, and the management of complex document and information requests.

Mr. Prober has represented clients in investigations conducted by various federal executive branch departments, commissions and agencies, including, among others, the departments of Justice, Defense, and Health and Human Services. He has also counseled clients in responding to and navigating investigations by state attorneys general; in investigations by various state legislative bodies; in inquiries conducted by various inspector general offices; and before various investigative commissions, including the Commission on Wartime Contracting and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. In connection with these representations, Mr. Prober frequently advises on related legal matters and parallel proceedings.

Mr. Prober also assists clients with the development and implementation of effective compliance programs, as well as with respect to any associated governmental investigations. This includes such areas as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and equivalent international antibribery regimes, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) related issues.

Prior to rejoining Akin Gump in 2017, Mr. Prober served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). At DOJ, Mr. Prober handled all facets of the Department's responses to congressional oversight and investigations, which often involved parallel DOJ investigations and enforcement matters, as well as other related agency inquiries. In addition, Mr. Prober was responsible for engagement with the DOJ Inspector General's Office and the Government Accountability Office in its investigations, reviews, and audits of the Department. Mr. Prober’s service at the Department came at a period which saw a particularly high volume of complex and high-profile investigations. While at DOJ, Mr. Prober advised the Department’s senior leadership team, including the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, and he worked closely with the leadership of DOJ's many components, including its Criminal Division and other law enforcement components.

Mr. Prober was appointed to his position at DOJ in 2015, following over a decade in private practice, including as a partner in Akin Gump's congressional investigations practice.

Among his notable engagements at Akin Gump, Mr. Prober spearheaded the firm’s pro bono representation of hundreds of Holocaust survivors and family members in their pursuit of justice from the French railroad company that was responsible for deporting these victims toward the death camps. His work on this matter resulted in an historic treaty between the U.S. and France in which France funded a more-than-$60 million compensation fund for the victims and their families.

Mr. Prober serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching a course on congressional investigations. He has previously served as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer on the same topic at Fordham Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, respectively.

Representative Matters

Mr. Prober has represented a wide array of individuals and corporations in connection with high-profile congressional investigations, including:

a number of health care insurance companies in various investigations related to health care reform and implementation

a leading restaurant chain in an investigation related to a product recall

a major independent living facility in an investigation related to veterans benefits (as well as in a related state Attorney General investigation and settlement)

a number of clients in various investigations related to the Gulf Coast oil spill

a major international retailer in an inquiry related to the FCPA

a compounding pharmacy in an investigation related to its products

a major bank in an investigation related to its physical commodities business

a number of clients in investigations related to the financial crisis of 2008, including representation of a former CEO of a leading insurance company, a credit rating agency, and a top hedge fund

multiple leading defense contractors in a number of investigations into Iraq- and Afghanistan-related contracts and conduct

several leading hedge funds and fund managers in a number of investigations of derivative trading and other fund practices

a major banking/mortgage institution in an investigation related to its mortgage and lending practices

a prominent major league baseball team in connection with investigations into stadium financing (as well as in a related state legislative inquiry and related litigation)

a trailer manufacturer in an investigation related to the Gulf Coast hurricane relief effort.

Community Involvement

Mr. Prober’s community, civic, and charitable activities include being a board of directors member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Next Generation Board and a co-chairman of the Museum’s Washington Lawyers Committee.

Awards and Accolades

Named by the National Law Journal as a Washington, DC 40 Under 40 “Rising Star” (2017)

Named by Law360 among White Collar “Rising Stars” (2014)

Awarded Burton Award for law firm writing for the article “Preserving Privacy Inside the Beltway: Responding to Congressional Demands for Sensitive Financial and Medical Information” (2013).